Gilas in Belgrade, Part 2: Scouting the Group A foes

As tip-off approaches in the FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournament in Belgrade, Serbia, the national basketball team of the Philippines had hurdled the protocols needed as their preparations have upped a notch ahead of their group A campaign where they have to play two games in as many days.

With Tab Baldwin manning the dozen-strong squad that had the core of the champion Ateneo program in the UAAP, all eyes are on the youth of the 31st-ranked Gilas as they face the hardest test in their international careers just more than a week after making a huge statement in Pampanga in the FIBA Asia Cup qualifiers.

And before the opening tip has been thrown at the Pionir Hall, here are the two other teams who are gunning for that lone ticket to Tokyo.

SERBIA: CLEAR AS DAYLIGHT

Make no mistake about it: Fifth-ranked in the world. OQT Hosts for the second straight time. And of course, overwhelming favorites once again for an Olympic Berth.

This European powerhouse is a PROPER BASKETBALL NATION, full stop. With talents aplenty from their infinite well, Igor Kokoskov has a lot of decisions for his final twelve ahead of their opener against the Dominican Republic on June 29 before taking on Gilas the following day.

Simply put, it’s like South Korea, but deadlier because they can mix their lethal basketball with typical Balkan physicality: speedy yet more intelligent and more brutal.

For the former NBA coaching veteran, he will have his hands full in their 16-man provisional squad, as there are only three holdovers from their silver medal squad in Rio that played in the first Belgrade OQT in 2016: Milos Teodosic, Stefan Jovic and Nikola Kalinic who played under the fabled Sasa Djordjevic that time.

Apart from those, Dallas Mavericks’ slotman Boban Marjanovic will make his return to the national set-up, as they also have a pair of 21 year-olds on their fold: Dalibor Ilic and former Gonzaga center Filip Petrusev.

Those two have been already been known by Kai Sotto, Geo Chiu and Carl Tamayo, as that dynamic duo bludgeoned Batang Gilas in the FIBA U19 World Cup in Crete two years ago, with the then Mega Basket teammates pitched in a combined 30 points to beat the Filipinos by 27.

They would enter the competition without Nikola Jokic, with the newly-minted MVP was stellar in his international debut five years ago when they breezed through the field with an average winning margin of 21 points. Instead, they will also have another MVP in guard Vasilije Micic who had been Europe’s best player not in the NBA.

The 27 year-old was also part of the Serbian side that finished fifth in the most recent Basketball World Cup, with his best performance came in their 59-point mauling of Yeng Guiao’s side when he was three assists shy of an eleven-point double-double.

Apart from Boban, Micic and Jovic, Miami’s Nemanja Bjelica and CSKA Moscow’s Nikola Milutinov were also part of the side that dealt that forgettable Gilas team another unforgettable massacre on the hard court.

Let’s be real, the chances of beating the Serbians is like having a cold day in hell. With our reputation took a beating in 2019 because of half-heartedness and bad preparation, it might be a big win for us if we can reduce the deficit even if we go down fighting. And probably, coach Kokoskov would be giving coach Tab complements for a job well done.
UPDATE: Serbia's final roster is already been revealed yesterday (June 27), with Milutinov and Red Star Belgrade captain Branko Lazic were withdrawn owing to health reasons. Aside from them and Ilic, Kalinic's Valencia teammate Vanja Marinkovic were also the final men cut.

DOMINICAN REPUBLIC: A WILD CARD

In contrast to lengthy description of Serbia, the nineteenth-ranked Dominican Republic is a mystery in many aspects, especially we do not have a lot of past fixtures against them before meeting them on the first of July.

This game will be their first match-up in seven years, with the Central Americans eked out a seven-point win in their final pre-World Cup friendly in Guadalajara, Spain. That time, coach Tab was the consultant of then-Gilas mentor Chot Reyes.

On that tune-up marred by a first-half bust-up, only the pair of Center Eloy Vargas and Victor Liz have returned to help the cause of coach Melvyn Lopez.

However, their quality must not be taken for granted despite not having NBA veterans like Al Horford and Karl-Anthony Towns. While both the Philippines and the Dominican Republic have been previously Spanish colonies, the latter had five players in the Spanish league pyramid with the dynamic duo of Mike Torres and Sadiel Rojas who are in the main roster of ACB clubs Real Betis and UCAM Murcia respectively.

Unlike Serbia and the Philippines, the country on the eastern side of the Hispaniola are looking to qualify for their first-ever Olympiad. The closest the Dominicans came to the premier international basketball tournament came in the 2012 qualifier in Caracas, Venezuela where Horford, Towns and former NBA veteran Francisco Garcia fell to Nigeria at the final hurdle.

But all hope is not yet lost for Gilas though, as veteran Serbian sportswriter Milos Jovanovic wrote in GMA News Online that their final group A game is the best chance of notching a victory and in the process, going to the knockout stage in the history of the OQT.
For him, Gilas will have a shot on their D-day by exploiting their youthful energy. Start the game blazing, and they will all be fine.
PHOTOS: FIBA